Data sending/receiving method and apparatus, data receiving apparatus and data sending apparatus

ABSTRACT

A sending receiving method for data, such as musical data, in which plural data stored in a first storage unit are retrieved based on the request information sent from a host side device. The retrieved data is sent to a terminal side device. The sent data is checked to see as to whether or not the sent data is data newly stored in the first storage unit. If the results of check indicate that the sent data is data newly stored in the first storage unit, the sent data is stored in a second storage unit of the terminal side device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a data sending/receiving method and apparatus,a data receiving apparatus and a data sending apparatus. Moreparticularly, it relates to a data sending/receiving method andapparatus configured for sending and receiving data, a data receivingapparatus and a data sending apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

With improvement in the technique of compressing video signals or speechsignals or in the digital signal processing technique in the field ofbroadcasting or communication, it has become possible to realizeservices of distributing digital data, such as video on demand (VOD) ormusic on demand (MOD).

Up to now, as an example of service configurations of furnishing digitaldata, a so-called push type service is being offered, in which thereceiving side specifies a particular genre to the host side over theInternet and in which the host side retrieves data falling under thegenre from a data base to sequentially transfer the retrieved data insuccession to the receiving side.

However, in the conventional data transmission/reception system, therelacks up to now a system of automatically downloading data of the newinformation, put on sale or publicized only of late, on the receptionside. For example, in the conventional MOD system, there lacks a systemof downloading data on new musical numbers on the reception side. In theconventional MOD system, there lacks a system for permitting thereception side to switch between the low quality reproduction and thehigh quality reproduction of data on new musical numbers. In addition,the conventional MOD system is no other than a system in which a userpays fee unexceptionally for data acquisition. On the contrary, therehas not been known to data a system in which a portion of a new musicalnumber is heard on trial and a user pays only the fee for the numberwhich has suited to his or her liking in order to acquire the data forthe new musical number in its entirety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a datasending/receiving apparatus which resolves the above-described problems.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a datasending/receiving method which resolves the above-described problems.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a datareception apparatus which resolves the above-described problems.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a datasending apparatus which resolves the above-described problems.

According to the present invention there is provided a data sendingreceiving apparatus including a first storage unit holding plural dataon memory, a retrieval unit for retrieving the data stored in the firststorage unit, a first sending receiving unit for sending data retrievedby the retrieval unit, and a second sending receiving unit for receivingthe data sent from the first sending receiving unit and for sending therequest information from the user. The first sending receiving unitreceives the request information sent from a user to supply the receivedrequest information to the retrieval unit. The second sending receivingunit has a decision unit for checking whether or not data sent from thefirst sending receiving unit is data newly stored in the first storageunit and a second storage unit for storing data sent from the firstsending receiving unit if the results of check by the check unitindicates that the data is data stored in the first storage unit.

According to the present invention there is also provided a datareceiving apparatus including a sending receiving unit for receivingdata sent from a host side device and for sending the requestinformation from the user to the host side device, a storage unit forstoring received data sent by the sending receiving unit and acontroller for checking whether or not the sent data is data newlystored in the host side device, the controller causing the sent data tobe stored in the storage unit if the results of check indicate that thesent data is data newly stored in the host side device.

According to the present invention there is also provided a data sendingreceiving method including the steps of retrieving plural data stored ina first storage unit based on the request information from a user sentto a host side device, sending the retrieved data to a terminal sidedevice, checking whether or not the sent data is data newly stored inthe first storage unit and storing the sent data in a second storageunit of the terminal side device if the results of discriminationindicate that the sent data is data newly stored in the first storageunit.

According to the present invention there is additionally provided a datasending apparatus including a storage unit having plural data storedtherein, a retrieval unit for retrieving data stored in the storage unitbased on the request information from the user containing dataspecifying the user's intention to make payments sent from a terminalside device and a sending receiving unit for sending the data retrievedby the retrieval unit. The sending receiving unit also receives therequest information sent from the user to send the received informationto the retrieval unit. The sending receiving unit switches the sendingmode to the terminal side device of data retrieved by the retrieval unitbased on data specifying the user's intention to make payments for therequest information from the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an entire structure of a data sending/receiving systemembodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view for illustrating the loading of a portableterminal device on a data relaying device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an illustrative circuit structure of adata sending/receiving system.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a format of data sent from a data sendingapparatus to a data receiving apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for illustrating the processing by a data sendingapparatus, a data relaying device and a portable terminal device in casethe designation of new musical number data is contained in the datadesignation information of the request information sent from theportable terminal device to the data sending apparatus and forillustrating an example of switching the sound quality of the newmusical number data transferred by the data sending apparatus to thedata receiving apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for illustrating the processing contents of thedata sending apparatus, data relaying apparatus and the portableterminal device in case the data sending apparatus executes a push typeservice.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing an example of setting anaccounting flag for the musical data stored in a hard disc of a harddisc drive.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view for illustrating the case of reproducingnew musical number data recorded on the hard disc in the portableterminal device.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view for illustrating the portable terminaldevice accessing the data sending apparatus without employing the datarelaying device.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an alternative structure of thedata relaying apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, preferred embodiments of a data sendingreceiving apparatus according to the present invention will be explainedin detail.

In the data sending/receiving apparatus, explained in the followingembodiment, it is assumed that music data is sent from a data sendingapparatus as a host side device to a data receiving apparatus as aterminal side device.

A data sending receiving system 1 of the present invention, shown n FIG.1, is a system for so-called music-on-demand and a data sending device 2as a terminal device on the server side is connected over acommunication network 3 to a data receiving device 4. The data receivingdevice 4 is made up of a data relaying device 5 and a portable terminaldevice 6, as a user side terminal device, detachably connected to thedata relaying device 5.

Specifically, each lateral surface of a casing of the portable terminaldevice 6 is loaded on a mounting portion 7 formed as a recess in acasing of the data relaying device 5 for electrically and mechanicallyinterconnecting the data relaying device 5 and the portable terminaldevice 6. That is, with the data sending receiving system 1, the datasending device 2 is connected over the communication network 3 to thedata relaying device 5, and the data relaying device 5 is connected tothe portable terminal device 6 for interconnecting the data sendingdevice 2 and the portable terminal device 6.

The data sending device 2 is mounted at, for example, a data managementcenter on the side of the server and exchanges data concerning theaccounting for performing preset accounting for the user. The datarelaying device 5 relays the request information from the portableterminal device 6, as later explained, to send the relayed informationto the data sending device 2, while relaying the data sent from the datasending device 2 to send the relayed data to the portable terminaldevice 6. The data relaying device 5 is mounted on kiosk shop at arailway station, a convenience store, a public telephone box or at ahome. The portable terminal device 6 is owned by each user and is aportable device convenient for transportation.

Although only one data relaying device 5 and one portable terminaldevice 6 are shown in FIG. 6 for convenience in illustration, aplurality of data relaying devices 5 and a plurality of portableterminal devices 6 are connected over the communication network 3 to theserver side data sending device 2.

For the communication network 3 and an accounting communication network10, ISDN or a telephone network is used. Although the present embodimentillustrates an embodiment in which the communication network 3 and thedata sending device 2 are connected by wired connection, such as with acommunication cable or an optical fiber, the wired connection may bereplaced by radio or wireless connection. In addition, although thecommunication network 3 and the data relaying device 5 are similarlyconnected by wired connection, such as with a communication cable or anoptical fiber, wireless connection, such as over a radio route, may alsobe used. Also, in the data sending receiving system 1, data transmissionfrom the data sending device 2 to the data receiving device 4 may be viaa communication medium, employing a broadcasting satellite, withoutemploying the communication network 3 by a wired connection. If thebroadcasting satellite is used, the communication network 3 is used forsending the request information, as later explained, from the datareceiving device 4 to the data sending device 2.

The server side data sending device 2 receives the request information,as later explained, sent from the data relaying device 5 over thecommunication network 3, to retrieve the relevant data based on thereceived request information. In addition, the data sending device 2transfers the retrieved data in a preset system over the communicationnetwork 3 to the data relaying device 5 and/or to the portable terminaldevice 6.

Referring to FIG. 3, this data sending device 2 includes an interfacingunit 11 connected over the communication network 3 to the data relayingdevice 5 for data sending and reception, a large-capacity hard discarray 12, having plural data items, such as music numbers, storedtherein, and a data retrieving processing unit 13 for retrievingrelevant data from this hard disc array 12. The data sending device 2also includes an accounting processing unit 14 for accessing theaccounting communication network 10 to perform preset accounting for thechargeable user and a controller 15 for controlling the data sendingdevice 2 in its entirety.

The interfacing unit 11 is connected over the communication network 3 tothe data relaying device 5 to receive the request information sent fromthe portable terminal device 6, such as the data designation informationor the user ID information. The interfacing unit 11 sends data, such asmusic data, outputted by the data retrieving processing unit 13, aslater explained, via the communication network 3 to the data relayingdevice 5. The above-mentioned operations of the interfacing unit 11 areexecuted on the bases of the control signals sent from the controller15.

In the hard disc array 12, there are stored data, such as musical dataof various genres, guide for music, or other audio data as compresseddata. In the hard disc array 12, there are stored musical dataconcerning the new musical numbers, referred to herein as new musicalnumber data, along with an appended identifier, referred to herein as anew musical data identifier. The new musical number data means musicaldata within a preset time period as from the date on which it is put onsale only of late, such as within one month. The specified definition ofthe new musical number data is appropriately determined or modified onthe host side.

The data retrieving processing unit 13 receives the request informationfrom the portable terminal device 6, received by the interfacing unit11, over the controller 15, and retrieves relevant data from thenumerous data items, such as musical numbers, stored in the hard discarray 12, based on this request information. The data retrievingprocessing unit 13 has a memory for transient data storage and reads outthe retrieved data from the hard disc array 12 for transient storagetherein. The data retrieving processing unit 13 also sends the datastored in the memory to the interfacing unit 11.

The data retrieving processing unit 13 also can read out only newmusical number data from the hard disc array 12 by retrieving the newmusical number identifier. The above-described operation of the dataretrieving processing unit 13 is performed on the basis of controlsignals from the controller 15.

The accounting processing unit 14 receives the request information fromthe portable terminal device 6, received by the interfacing unit 11, viathe controller 15, and specifies the chargeable users based on thereceived request information, while executing preset accounting for thechargeable user.

The controller 15 has a sending control program for sending musical datarelevant to the received request information to the data relaying device5 on the basis of the request information sent from the portableterminal device 6 via the data relaying device 5 and the communicationnetwork 3. The controller 15 controls the interfacing unit 11, hard discarray 12, data retrieving processing unit 13 and the accountingprocessing unit 14 based on this sending control program.

Specifically, the controller 15 controls the interfacing unit 11 so thatthe request information sent from the portable terminal device 6 via thedata relaying device 5 and the communication network 3 is received andsent to the controller 15. The controller 15 transiently stores therequest information supplied form the interfacing unit 11 to send thisrequest information to the data retrieving processing unit 13 and to theaccounting processing unit 14.

The controller 15 executes the above-described retrieval based on thedata designation information of the received request information to readout the retrieved data from the hard disc array 12 to store the datatransiently in the memory of the data retrieving processing unit 13.

The controller 15 refers to the user ID information of the receivedrequest information to control the data retrieving processing unit 13and the interfacing unit 11 so that the data transiently stored in thememory of the data retrieving processing unit 13 is sent to theinterfacing unit 11 and data read out from the memory is sent to thedata relaying device 5 to which is connected the portable terminaldevice 6. In this manner, musical data is sent from the data sendingdevice 2 to the portable terminal device 6 in the present data sendingreceiving system 1.

In the sending control program of the controller 15 is assembled aprogram for offering a so-called push type service as its subroutine.The program for offering this push type service includes a genre-basedsending program for sequentially sending musical data in the relevantgenre to the portable terminal device 6 based on the genre designatinginformation used for designating the specified genre sent from theportable terminal device 6.

In the program for offering the push type services, there is assembledthe new musical number data sending program for sequentially sendingonly the new musical number data to the portable terminal device 6 basedon the new musical number request information from the portable terminaldevice 6 commanding transfer only of new musical number data. Thecontrol operations performed by the controller 15 in offering these pushtype services will be explained in detail subsequently.

The data sending receiving system 1 of the present embodiment uses thepacket exchanging system and sends data on the data packet basis. Theformat of each data packet sent from the data sending device 2 to thedata receiving device 4 is such a format in which music data as maindata portion is compressed with modified DCT as disclosed for example inJapanese Laying-Open Patent H-3-139923 or Japanese Laying-Open PatentH-3-139922 and in which a new music number flag or number ID is appendedto the compressed data, as shown in FIG. 4.

The new musical number flag is a flag specifying whether or not themusic data as compressed data is the new musical number, and is appendedas a header for each data packet. The number ID data includes, forexample, music genre, name of the performing artist or the title of themusical number. By using the data format as shown in FIG. 4, there iscaused no inconvenience in the data sending receiving system 1 even incase the data is sent from the data sending device 2 to the datareceiving device 4 over the broadcasting satellite or data is sent inaccordance with the push system.

Referring to FIG. 3, the data relaying device 5 includes an interfacingunit 21, a hard disc array (HDD) 22, a read-only memory (ROM) 23, arandom-access memory (RAM) 24, an operating input unit 25, a displayunit 26, an interfacing (I/F) unit 27, a charging unit 28 and acontroller 29 comprised of a micro-computer. These elements areinterconnected over a bus 30.

The interfacing unit 21 is connected via communication network 3 to thedata sending device 2 to receive data sent from the data sending device2. The received data is stored transiently in the RAM 24. In the datarelaying device 5, a terminal 21 a provided on the top of a casingserves as input/output terminals of the interfacing unit 21 serves as aninput/output terminal of the interfacing unit 21.

The hard disc drive 22 includes a hard disc, not shown, on whichreceived data transiently stored in the RAM 24 is recorded under controlby the controller 29.

In the ROM 23 is stored the relay control program for controlling theoperation of the data relaying device 5. In the data relaying device 5,the controller 29 reads out the relay control program stored in the ROM23 to control the constituent elements of the data relaying device 5.

The RAM 24 transiently stores the data sent from the data sending device2 over the communication network 3. The RAM 24 transiently stores therequest information sent from the portable terminal device 6 over theI/F 27.

An actuating input unit 25 sends an actuation input signal to thecontroller 29 and has a plurality of actuating buttons 25 a, as shown inFIG. 2.

A display unit 26 has a liquid crystal display device and is provided onthe top of the casing, as shown in FIG. 2. This display unit 26 displaysthe actuating input signal from the actuating buttons 25 a, datareception states from the data sending device 2 or the requestinformation from the portable terminal device 6.

The I/F 27 is an input output interface for the portable terminal device6 and is connected to the I/F 31 of the portable terminal device 6 toreceive the request information from the portable terminal device 6 viathis I/F 27. The I/F 27 sends musical data sent from the data sendingdevice 2 via I/F 31 to the portable terminal device 6. The I/F 27 of thedata relaying device 5 and the I/F 31 of the portable terminal device 6provide for electrical connection between the data relaying device 5 andthe portable terminal device 6 via terminal 27 a on the side of the datarelaying device 5 and via terminal 31 a of the portable terminal device6 connected to the I/F 27 and I/F 31, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 2and 3.

The charging unit 28 is used for charging a battery 39 of the portableterminal device 6. Specifically, with the data relaying device 5 beingelectrically connected to the portable terminal device 6, that is withthe portable terminal device 6 being loaded in position on the datarelaying device 5, an output terminal 28 a of the charging unit 28 iscontacted with an input terminal 39 a of the battery 39, as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, to supply the current from the charging unit 28 to thebattery 39 under control by the controller 29.

The controller 29 reads out and executes the relay control programstored in the RAM 23 to control the respective blocks as describedabove.

Referring to FIG. 3, the portable terminal device 6 includes aninterface (I/F) 31, a hard disc drive (HDD) 32, a read-only memory (ROM)33, a random access memory (RAM) 34, an actuating input unit 35, adisplay unit 36, an interface (I/F) 37, a data expanding unit 38, abattery 39, a D/A controller 41 and a controller 42 made up of amicro-computer. These component parts are interconnected over a bus 40.

The I/f 31 is an input/output interface for the data relaying device 5and is connected to the I/F 27 of the data relaying device 5 in order tooutput the request information to the data relaying device 5. The I/F 31receives data, such as music, from the data sending device 2, sent fromthe data relaying device 5 over the I/F 27. The received music data istransiently stored in the RAM 34.

The hard disc drive 32 includes a hard disc, not shown. The music datafrom the data sending device 2, transiently stored in the RAM 34, isrecorded in this hard disc.

In the ROM 33 is stored the control program for controlling theoperation of the portable terminal device 6. The controller 42 of theportable terminal device 6 reads out the control program stored in theROM 33 to control the constituent elements of the portable terminaldevice 6.

The RAM 34 transiently stores data sent from the data relaying device 5or the various data sent from the controller 42.

The actuating input unit 35 sends actuating input signals to thecontroller 42 and, as shown in FIGS. 1 an 2, is provided with variousactuating buttons 35 a to 35 d. Specifically, the actuating buttons 35 aand 35 b are selection keys for moving a cursor displayed on the displayunit 36 or selecting various functions, while the actuating key 35 c isa decision key for making decisions as to various functions. Theactuating button 35 d, made up of plural actuating keys, are made up ofvarious actuating keys for executing basic operations, such as playback,stop, pause, cue or review, for reproducing data recorded on the harddisc of the hard disc array 32. In the portable terminal device 6, theseactuating buttons are pushed to permit actuating input signalscorresponding to the thrusting to be sent over the bus 40 to thecontroller 42.

The display unit 36 has a liquid crystal display device and is providedon the upper part of the major surface of the casing, as shown in FIGS.1 and 2. This display unit 36 is responsive to an actuating input signalfrom the actuating input unit 25 derived from the pushing actuation ofthe actuating buttons 35 a to 35 d to display the request informationgenerated by the controller 42, reception states from the data sendingdevice 2 or the connection states with the data relaying device 5.

The I/F 37 is an input/output interface for an external input/outputdevice, such as a keyboard, modem or display. The lower part on thelateral surface of the casing of the portable terminal device 6 isprovided with a connection terminal 37 a for interconnecting the I/F 37with the external input/output device, as shown in FIG. 2.

The data expanding unit 38 expands musical data, that is compresseddata, read out from the RAM 34 or the hard disc drive 32.

The battery 39 furnishes the source voltage to the respectiveconstituent elements of the portable terminal device 6 and may be arepeatedly rechargeable secondary cell, for example, a nickel cadmiumcell, nickel hydrogen cell or lithium ion cell. In the presentembodiment, the battery 39 is automatically charged by the voltagesupplied from the charging unit 28 of the data relaying device 5 whenthe portable terminal device 6 is connected to the data relaying device5.

The D/A controller 41 converts digital signals outputted by the dataexpanding unit 38 into analog playback signals. The playback signalsgenerated after conversion by the D/A controller 41 are sent to theterminal 41 a so as to be outputted as speech or as music via anexternal speaker 43 connected to the terminal 41 a.

The controller 42 reads out the control program stored in the ROM 33 toexecute the read-out program to output a control signal to respectiveblocks of the portable terminal device 6 to execute pre-set processing.Specifically, the controller 42 generates the request information basedon the actuation input signals from the actuating input unit 35 to sendthe request information to the data relaying device 5 by way of acontrol operation. The controller 42 also outputs the data stored in theRAM 34 via data expanding unit 38 and D/A controller 41 to an externalspeaker 43 by way of a playback operation. The controller 42 furnishesthe data stored in the RAM 34 to the hard disc drive 32 for storage inthe hard discs held therein.

The request information sent by the portable terminal device 6 to thedata sending device 2 may be exemplified by the user ID information,data designation information for specifying data desired to be acquired,and the accounting information specifying whether or not the user isintending to make corresponding payments. The user ID information ispreviously stored in the memory in the controller 42 in order togenerate the user ID information automatically.

In order for the data sending device 2 to execute the above-mentionedgenre-based sending program, it suffices if the genre designationinformation for specifying the genre of musical data desired to beacquired is sent to the data sending device 2 in place of the datadesignation information of the request information. In order for thedata sending device 2 to execute the above-mentioned new musical numberdata sending program, it suffices if the new musical number informationfor requesting only the new musical number data to be transferred issent to the data sending device 2 in place of the data designatinginformation. At this time, the above-mentioned genre designationinformation may be sent simultaneously with the new musical numberrequest information in order to acquire only new musical number data inthe specified genre.

The basic operation in the respective devices when the user acquiresmusic data in accordance with the so-called MOD system in the presentdata sending receiving system 1 is hereinafter explained. The user actson the actuating buttons 35 a to 35 d of the actuating input unit 35 aof the portable terminal device 6 to designate one or more desired data.If new musical number data is contained in the specified data, theabove-mentioned accounting information is entered to decide whether ornot to make payments. The portable terminal device 6 then generates therequest information including the accounting information by thecontroller 42. This request information is stored in the RAM 34.

For designating the data, it suffices if the schematics and a list ofdata registered in the hard disc array 12 of the data sending device 2are stored as a data base menu in the ROM 33 or in the RAM 34 anddesired data is selected from this data base menu by actuation of theactuating buttons 35 a to 35 d. At this time point, the portableterminal device 6 need not be connected to the data relaying device 5.

If the portable terminal device 6, in which the request information hasbeen generated as described above, is loaded on the mounting portion 7of the data relaying device 5, and the controller 29 of the datarelaying device 5 detects that the portable terminal device 6 has beenloaded in position, the controller 29 of the data relaying device 5reads out the relay control program from the ROM 23 to execute theread-out program. This connects the portable terminal device 6 via datarelaying device 5 and the communication network 3 to the data sendingdevice 2. In the data sending receiving system 1, the requestinformation stored in the RAM 34 is sent from the I/F 31 to the datarelaying device 5 under control by the controller 42. The data relayingdevice 5 which has received the request information from the portableterminal device 6 sends this request information via communicationnetwork 3 to the data sending device 2 under control by the controller29.

In the data sending device 2, the request information sent from thedevice 5 is entered to the interfacing unit 11, the request informationentering the interfacing unit 11 being then sent to the controller 15and to the data retrieving processing unit 13. The data retrievingprocessing unit 13 refers to the data designation information of therequest information to retrieve and read out the corresponding data fromthe hard disc array 12. The controller 15 controls the interfacing unit11 to send the data read out from the hard disc array 12 viacommunication network 3 to the data relaying device 5 based on therequest information. The music data read out from the hard disc array12, that is the music data designated by the user, is received by thedata relaying device 5. The controller 15 discriminates, based on theuser ID information in the request information, whether or not the userof the portable terminal device 6 is the user who can use the datasending receiving system 1, and permits only the user capable of usingthe data sending receiving system 1 to perform the operations indicatedin the flowcharts of FIG. 5 ff.

The controller 29 of the data relaying device 5 which has received thedata controls the respective blocks so that the received data will besent to the portable terminal device 6. Specifically, the controller 29sends data entering the modem 21 via I/F 27 to the portable terminaldevice 6, while causing the data to be stored on the hard disc of thehard disc drive 22. This permits the data to be backed-up by the harddisc drive 22 even if the data relaying device 5 is disconnected fromthe portable terminal device 6 during data sending.

The basic operation in the respective devices when the user acquires newmusical number data in the data sending receiving system 1 is explainedwith reference to the flowcharts.

FIG. 5 shows that plural data is designated in the data designatinginformation of the request information sent by the portable terminaldevice 6 to the data sending device 2. Specifically, FIG. 5 is aflowchart showing processing contents of t the data sending device 2,data relaying device 5 and the portable terminal device 6 in case thedesignation of new musical number data is contained in this datadesignation information. That is, this flowchart shows a typicalprocessing of switching the sending mode when the data sending device 2sends data to the data receiving device 4 depending on the possiblepresence of accounting for the new musical number data.

The controller 15 of the data sending device 2 having received therequest information refers to the data designation information of therequest information at step s1 to control the data retrieving processingunit 13 to retrieve and read out data designated by the user from thehard disc array 12.

At the next step S2, the controller 15 verifies whether or not data readout from the hard disc array 12 is the new musical number flag explainedwith reference to FIG. 4, based on the new musical number data. If theresult of check at step S2 is YES, that is if the data is the newmusical number data, the flow moves to step S3. If the result is NO,that is if the data is found not to be the new musical number data, theflow moves to step S5.

At step S3, the controller 15 refers to the payment information of therequest information to check whether or not the user is willing to makepayments for the new musical number data. If the result of check at stepS3 is YES, that is if it is found that the user is willing to makepayments for the new musical number data, the flow moves to step S4. Ifthe result of check at step S3 is NO, that is if it is found that theuser is not willing to make payments for the new musical number data,the flow moves to step S6.

At step S4, the controller 15 controls the accounting processing unit 14to execute preset accounting for the new musical number data before theflow moves to step S5.

At step S5, the controller 15 switches to the sending mode of sendingthe new musical number data or other musical data, for which accountinghas been made, to the data receiving device 4 with the same soundquality, that is with high sound quality, and executes data processingmatched to the mode, before proceeding to step S7. On the other hand,the controller 15 at step S5 switches to the sending mode of sending thenew musical number data for which the user is not willing to makepayments with a sound quality lower than that of other musical data,executes data processing matched to the mode, before proceeding to stepS7. If new musical number data is sent at step S5 or S7, a new musicalnumber flag is set in a header of each data packet before sending thedata packet.

As for the processing at steps S5 and S6, the new musical number data orother data, read out from the hard disc array 12 is directly sent atstep S5, while new musical number data is converted at the processing atstep S6 to audio data which is sent directly or after limiting the S/Nratio or the frequency range of the new musical number data. It is alsopossible to send only new musical number data for one chorus withoutdegrading the sound quality of the new musical number data.

By executing the processing at step S6, it is possible for the datasending device 2 to send new musical number data as sample data to theuser failing or not willing to make payments.

The data sent in this manner from the data sending device 2 is receivedby the data relaying device 5 at step S7 and sent to the portableterminal device 6 under control by the controller 29 of the datarelaying device 5.

The portable terminal device 6 on reception of data from the datarelaying device 5 at step S8 detects the new musical number flag of theheader of each data packet shown in FIG. 4 by the controller 42 to checkat step S9 whether or not the data is the new musical number data. Ifthe result of check at S9 is YES, that is if the data is found to be thenew musical number data, the flow moves to step S10 and, if otherwise,the flow moves to step S11.

The controller 42 allows the new musical number data to be supplied tothe hard disc drive 32 at step S10 to control the data to be stored inthe hard disc in the hard disc drive 32.

The controller 42 performs control at the next step S11 to send the newmusical number data or other data to the data expanding unit 38 toexpand the data to sequentially reproduce the data. This permits theportable terminal device 6 to sequentially reproduce the data requestedby the user and to record only the new musical number data automaticallyon the hard disc. On the portable terminal device 6, the new musicalnumber data for which payment has been made can be heard with the samesound quality as that of other musical data, while the new musicalnumber data for which payment has not been made can be heard as dataprocessed at step S6, that is as so-called sample data.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the datasending device 2, data relaying device 5 and the portable terminaldevice 6 in case the data sending device 2 performs so-called push typeservices similar to broadcasting. In this flowchart, the portableterminal device 6 designates a specified music genre to permit the datasending device 2 to start the above-mentioned genre-based sendingprogram to sequentially send the music data of the specified genre tothe data receiving device 4.

The controller 15 of the data sending device 2 on reception of the genredesignation information refers at step S2 to the genre designationinformation of the request information to control the data retrievingprocessing unit 13 to sequentially retrieve and read out the music datain the specified genre from the hard disc array 12. In this case, theread-out musical data contains not only the new musical number data butalso other music data.

At the next step S22, the controller 15 performs control to send theread-out musical data sequentially to the data receiving device 4. Itshould be noted that, when sending the new musical number data, a newmusical number flag is set in the header of each data packet beforesending the data.

The musical data sent from the data sending device 2 is received at stepS23 by the data relaying device 5 and thence sent to the portableterminal device 6 under control by the controller 29 of the datarelaying device 5.

The portable terminal device 6 on reception of the musical data from thedata relaying device 5 at step S24 detects the new musical number flagof the header of the packet of each data packet shown in FIG. 4 to checkwhether or not the data is the new musical number data (step S25). Ifthe result of check at step S25 is YES, that is if the data is found tobe the new musical number data, the flow moves to step S26 and, ifotherwise, the flow moves to step S27.

The controller 42 at step S26 sends the new musical number data to thehard disc drive 32 to control the hard disc drive 32 to record the dataon the hard disc in the hard disc drive 32.

The controller 42 performs control at step S27 to send the new musicalnumber data or other musical data to the data expanding unit 38 toexpand the data to sequentially reproduce the data. Thus, in theportable terminal device 6, the musical data of the genre specified bythe user is sequentially reproduced, while only the new musical numberdata is automatically recorded on the hard disc.

At the next step S28, the controller 42 is in a state of waiting for aninput indicating whether the payment should be made for each new musicalnumber data recorded on the hard disc of the hard disc drive 32. If theresult of check at step S28 is YES, that is if an input indicates thatpayment should be made, the reproducing state is switched to permit thenew musical number data to be reproduced with the same high quality asthat of the other music data to execute the processing of step S29. Ifthe result of check at step S28 is NO, that is if an input indicatesthat payment is not made, the reproducing state is terminated, on theassumption that the user is not willing to reproduce data with highsound quality.

The controller 15 of the data sending device 2, which has received thisrequest information, controls the accounting processing unit 14 at stepS30 to make preset payment for the specified new musical number data.

After completion of the sending of the request information, thecontroller 42 of the portable terminal device 6 performs control at stepS31 to set an accounting flag indicating the end of accounting for themusical data stored in the hard disc of the hard disc drive 32. Thisprocessing is performed by appending a flag to the leading end of thedata, rewriting file allocation table (FAT) data or directory data ofthe hard disc or by providing the controller 42 with a table for datanames of the music data stored in the hard disc and by setting a pointerin this table, as shown in FIG. 7.

It is also possible to provide a new step between the step S30 and thestep S31, to send data indicating the end of the accounting from thedata sending device 2 to the portable terminal device 6 when theaccounting at step S30 comes to a close and to execute the processing ofstep S31 by the portable terminal device 6 detecting this data.

By the above processing, an accounting flag is set on only those of thenew musical number data recorded in the hard disc of the hard disc drive32 for which the payment has been made.

In the above description, it is assumed that the data sending device 2has started the genre-based sending program by the portable terminaldevice 6 sending the genre-based designation information. However,similar processing may be used when the data sending device 2 starts thenew musical number data sending program by the portable terminal device6 sending the above-mentioned new musical number request information. Itthis case, it suffices if the controller 15 of the data sending device 2having received the new musical number request information retrieves thenew musical number identifier to sequentially retrieve and read out newmusical number data from the hard disc array 12.

If the controller 15 also receives the genre designation informationalong with the new musical number request information, it suffices ifthe data retrieving processing unit 13 is controlled at step S21 tosequentially retrieve and read out new musical number data of the genrespecified by the user. If the data sending device 2 executes this newmusical number data sending program, the processing of step S25 forchecking on the side of the portable terminal device 6 if the data isthe new musical number data based on the new musical number flag isunnecessary.

The playback processing for reproducing the acquired new musical numberdata for the case of reproducing new musical number data recorded on thehard disc of the hard disc drive 32 on the present portable terminaldevice 6 is explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6.In this case, the portable terminal device 6 is taken out of the datarelaying device 5 and a headphone 44 is connected to the terminal 41 a.This allows the user to hear the music of the new musical number datacorresponding to the acquired new musical number data as the usercarries the portable terminal device 6. The playback processing for newmusical number data by the portable terminal device 6 is explained withreference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9.

At step S41 at the time of transfer to the new musical number datareproducing mode, the controller 42 of the portable terminal device 6 isin a state of waiting for a playback request for new musical numberdata. An actuation input signal, specifying the playback request, iskept at this step S41 until the actuation input signal specifying theplayback request is supplied from the actuating input unit 35, with theactuation input signal transferring to step S42 when a playback requestis issued. Specifically, at step S41, all data names of the new musicalnumber data stored on the hard disc are displayed on the display unit 36and the user then selects and decides one or more of the new musicalnumber data desired to be reproduced by the user acting on one of theactuating buttons 35 a to 35 d of the actuating input unit 35.

At step S42, the controller 42 checks whether or not the accounting flagshown in FIG. 7 has been set on new musical number data requested to bereproduced. At step S43, the new musical number data found at step S42to be that for which the accounting flag is set (YES) is processedbefore the flow moves to step S45. The new musical number data found atstep S42 to be that for which no accounting flag has been set (NO) isprocessed at step S44 before the flow moves to step S45.

At step S43, the controller 42 switches the playback state of theportable terminal device 6 to a high quality playback mode. Conversely,at step S44, the controller 42 switches the playback state of theportable terminal device 6 to a low quality playback mode. Examples ofthe reproducing processing of the low quality reproducing mode includeexecuting data expansion at a lower data expansion rate than that usedfor expansion processing for the high quality reproducing mode,executing monaural reproduction if the new musical number data is stereomusical data or limiting the reproducing time such as reproducing onlyone chorus of the new musical number data.

At step S45, the controller 42 controls the data expanding unit 38 sothat the new musical number data will be reproduced in accordance withthe playback mode as set or with the reproducing state. The data sendingreceiving system 1 then reproduces the new musical number data recordedon the hard disc of the hard disc drive 32 in such a manner that highquality reproduction is made as other musical data if the musical dataas new musical number data with the accounting flag set is reproduced,while reproduction at a lower sound quality than in reproducing othermusical data as at step S44 is made by way of a sample-wise reproductionif the musical data as new musical number data devoid of the accountingflag set is reproduced.

At the next step, the end waiting state is set in order to wait fortermination of the reproducing operation. Thus, control dwells at thisstep S46 until the reproducing processing on all designated new musicalnumber data comes to a close and, if the data reproducing operationcomes to a close, control reverts to step s41 to repeat the processingfrom step S41 to step S46.

That is, if the new musical number data stored on the hard disc of thehard disc drive 32 is to be reproduced with the present data sendingreceiving system 1, and the new musical number data to be reproduced isthe new musical number data with the accounting flag set, high qualityreproduction is executed as in the case of other musical data. If thenew musical number data reproduced is that devoid of the accounting flagas set, sample-wise reproduction with a lower sound quality than inreproducing other musical data is executed. Thus, new musical numberdata for which payment has not been made can be heard repeatedly fortrial sake. If there is any musical number data that has suited to theliking of the user as a result of tentative hearing, the correspondingnew musical number data that can be reproduced with high sound qualitysimilarly to other musical data can be acquired by the processingexplained with reference to FIG. 5.

In the above-described embodiment, the portable terminal device 6 andthe data sending device 2 are interconnected via data relaying device 5.It is however possible to interconnect a modem 46 accessible to thecommunication network 3 to the I/F 37 shown in FIG. 3 via connectionterminal 37 a of the portable terminal device 6 to interconnect theportable terminal device 6 and the data sending device 2 withoutinterposition of the data relaying device 5, as shown in FIG. 10. Inthis case, it is also possible to interconnect a keyboard 45 or adisplay 47 to the connection terminal 37 a for convenience in theinputting or display operations.

In the above-described embodiment, there is shown a data relaying deviceinterconnecting a sole portable terminal device 6 with the data sendingdevice 2. The present invention is, however, not limited to thisspecified constitution. For example, a data relaying device 50 capableof interconnecting plural portable terminal devices 6, as shown in FIG.11. Specifically, the data relaying device 50 includes plural mountingportions 7 for connecting to the portable terminal devices 6 on a baseblock of the device 50 and a corresponding plural number of actuatingbuttons 25 a and display units 26. That is, with the present datarelaying devices 50, the blocks 22 to 30 making up the data relayingdevice 50 are provided internally so that a number of users can acquirenew musical number data or musical data at a time.

In the above-described embodiment, musical data for a new musical numberthat is on the market only for a pre-set period since it was first puton the market, such as for one month. The present invention is, however,not limited to this and any musical data not received by the user asyet, that is musical data that is new musical number data for the user,may be defined as new musical number data.

In this case, it suffices if the index information of data stored in thehard disc drive 32 of the current portable terminal device 6 is sentalong with the above-mentioned request data to the data sending device 2in order for the data sending device 2 to check if the information isthe new information to permit only musical data not stored in the harddisc drive 32 of the portable terminal device 6 to be sent to theportable terminal device 6. It is also possible for the portableterminal device 6 to compare the data stored in the hard disc drive 32to the data sent from the data sending device 2 in order to record onlymusical data not stored in the hard disc drive 32.

What is claimed is:
 1. A content data updating system including a host device, a terminal device, and a portable reproducing apparatus connected to the terminal device, the host device comprising: a host communication unit configured to communicate with the terminal device; a storage unit configured to store a plurality of the content data and a corresponding plurality of associated data, each of the associated data being attached to a corresponding content data of the plurality of the content data; and a control unit configured (1) to identify a plurality of requested content data from the plurality of the content data based on a user request sent from the terminal device, and (2) to control sending of the plurality of requested content data together with the associated data of the plurality of the requested content data to the terminal device, and the terminal device including a terminal communication unit configured to communicate with the host device; and a terminal control unit configured (1) to cause the terminal communication unit to send the request to the host device based on user input, (2) to cause the terminal communication unit to receive the plurality of requested content data together with the plurality of the associated data, (3) to determine whether each of the plurality of the requested content data is new content data, after the terminal communication unit receives the plurality of requested content data together with the corresponding plurality of the associated data, by checking the corresponding associated data sent by the control unit of the host device, and (4) to control updating of a storage of the portable reproducing apparatus and store only the new content data, as determined by the results of the checking, into the portable reproducing apparatus, wherein the terminal control unit is configured to cause the terminal communication unit to send the request to the host device in response to the portable reproducing apparatus being connected to the terminal device.
 2. The content data updating system of claim 1, wherein the portable reproducing apparatus comprises: a portable communication unit configured to communicate with the host device directly; a portable control unit configured to control the portable communication unit to download the new content data.
 3. The content data updating system of claim 1, wherein the storage of the terminal device is configured to store a copy of the new content data before the portable reproducing apparatus stores the new content data.
 4. The content data updating system of claim 1, wherein one of the new content data is reproduced while other new content data are downloaded.
 5. The content data updating system of claim 1, wherein the content data is one of audio data and video data.
 6. The content data updating system according to claim 1, wherein said terminal communication unit generates the request including data specifying an intention of the user to make payment and sends the generated information to said host communication unit.
 7. The content data updating system according to claim 6, wherein said host communication unit switches a sending mode to said terminal communication unit for data identified by said control unit based on the data specifying the intention of the user to make payment sent from the terminal communication unit.
 8. The content data updating system according to claim 7, wherein said host communication unit switches the sending mode to the terminal communication unit based on data specifying the intention of the user to make payment sent from the terminal communication unit when the data identified by said control unit is data newly stored in said storage unit.
 9. The content data updating system according to claim 8, wherein said host communication unit sends to said terminal communication unit data newly stored in said storage unit with a same data quality as a data quality in sending other data stored in said storage unit when the data specifying the intention of the user to make payments for the request sent from the terminal communication unit indicates that the user is willing to make the payments.
 10. The content data updating system according to claim 9, wherein said host communication unit sends to said terminal communication unit data newly stored in said storage unit with a data quality lower than a data quality in sending other data stored in said storage unit when the data specifying the intention of the user to make payments for the request sent from the terminal communication unit indicates that the user is not willing to make the payments.
 11. The content data updating system according to claim 1, wherein said terminal communication unit generates the request including genre designation information and sends the generated information to said host communication unit.
 12. The content data updating system according to claim 11, wherein said terminal communication unit, when reproducing data stored in the storage of the terminal device, reproduces the data in a same playback state as a playback state for reproducing data other than the data newly stored in said storage unit when the user is willing to make a payment.
 13. The content data updating system according to claim 12, wherein said terminal communication unit, when reproducing data stored in the storage of the terminal device, sends information concerning the payment to said host communication unit when the user is willing to make the payment.
 14. The content data updating system according to claim 13, wherein said host communication unit performs accounting based on accounting information sent from said terminal communication unit.
 15. The content data updating system according to claim 12, wherein said host communication unit sends to said terminal communication unit data specifying that an accounting has come to a close and appends accounting data specifying that the accounting has come to a close for data for playback stored in the storage of the terminal device.
 16. The content data updating system according to claim 15, wherein said terminal communication unit switches the playback state of data stored in the storage of the terminal device based on the data specifying that the accounting has come to a close.
 17. The content data updating system according to claim 12, wherein said terminal communication unit discontinues the playback state while reproducing data stored in the storage of the terminal device when the user has no intention to make the payment.
 18. The content data updating system according to claim 11, wherein said host communication unit sends to the control unit the request from the user containing the genre designation information sent from the terminal communication unit, and wherein said control unit identifies data stored in said storage unit based on the request containing the genre designation information and sends the identified data to the terminal communication unit.
 19. The content data updating system according to claim 1, wherein said control unit identifies said new content that is data that has been put on sale or publicized only recently.
 20. The content data updating system according to claim 19, wherein said control unit identifies said new content data that is data received within a preset time period from a date on which the data has been put on sale or publicized.
 21. A terminal device of a content data updating system that includes a portable reproducing apparatus connected to the terminal device and a host device, the host device including a storage unit configured to store a plurality of the content data and a corresponding plurality of associated data, each of the associated data being attached to a corresponding content data of the plurality of content data, and a control unit configured to identify a plurality of requested content data based on a user request sent from the terminal device, and to control sending of the associated data of the plurality of the requested content data to the terminal device, the terminal device comprising: a terminal communication unit configured to communicate with the host device; and a terminal control unit configured (1) to cause the terminal communication unit to send the request to the host device based on user input, (2) to cause the terminal communication unit to receive the plurality of the requested content data together with the plurality of the associated data, (3) to determine whether each of the plurality of the requested content data is new content data, after the terminal communication unit receives the plurality of the requested content data together with the corresponding plurality of the associated data, by checking the corresponding associated data sent by the control unit of the host device, and (4) to control updating of a storage of the terminal device and store only the new content data, as determined by the results of the checking, into the portable reproducing apparatus, wherein the terminal control unit is configured to cause the terminal communication unit to send the request to the host device in response to the portable reproducing apparatus being connected to the terminal device.
 22. A method implemented by a terminal device of a content data updating system that includes a host device, and a portable reproducing apparatus connected to the terminal device, comprising: sending, to the host device, a user request for content data in response to the portable reproducing apparatus being connected to the terminal device; receiving, from the host device in response to the sending of the user request, a plurality of the requested content data together with corresponding plurality of associated data, wherein the host device stores each of the plurality of associated data attached to a corresponding content data of the plurality of the requested content data; determining whether each of the plurality of the requested content data is new content data, after receiving the plurality of the requested content data together with the corresponding plurality of the associated data, by checking the corresponding associated data received from the host device; controlling updating of a storage of the portable reproducing apparatus, and storing only the new content data, as determined by the results of the determining step, into the portable reproducing apparatus. 